Alsguth Travel Blog

Hello - it has been a minute but we have been busy!  We just returned to Meckelfeld from spending six nights in Dresden. Our time there started with a free walking tour. I highly recommend a free walking tour to learn the history of the city and find out the important things to see. Of course our tour guide was Nicolas from Italy, a published author with a PhD from some university in America.  The meeting place at the Martin Luther statue in front of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). Despite the name, this is a Protestant Church. This mural is over 150 meters long and tells the 800 year history of the city ending in 1918 when the monarchy ended. The rulers here had some cool nicknames - Konrad the Great, Friedrich the Quarrelsome, Ernst the Soft-hearted, Friedrich the Wise, August the Strong and his son August the Fat. Below is a close up of a wall in the palace, this is not stone. It is plaster that has been etched in an ancient "graffiti" style. It gives it a 3-dimensi...

Hello! The last stop on the cruise was Gibraltar.  A little history/geography lesson - Gibraltar is a British territory located on the Iberian Peninsula where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.  Formerly part of Spain, it was ceded to Britain in 1713 at the end of the Spanish War. It was first settled as an outpost in 1160 and continues to be important strategically, 50% of the world's seaborne trade passing thru the Strait of Gibraltar . The city is dominated by the "Rock" -  We had a two hour tour that took us up the Rock to visit the Caves of St. Michael and the ape families that live there. These apes are not as aggressive as those we encountered in Bali. No need to fear for your glasses or phones.  Our guide did tell us that one of the older females has worked out how to open a car door and look in the glove box for chocolate or peanuts! Naturally there is a lighthouse at Europa Point. The ship departed around noon Thursday for the long sail to Lisb...

Hello again, we moved on from Barcelona and started the exploration of the rest of Spain. First stop was Mallorca where we had a bicycle tour of Palma. It was fun to ride along the old city wall and then into the old city with it's small streets. Craziest thing, we are riding along and a dude in our group crashed HARD! He was, thankfully, not seriously injured!  It was a great day! Next day was Ibiza. We went to the North side of the island to an old cave system used by smugglers in the old days. Quite a bit of walking and many stairs! Next day the stop was Motril, Spain but the destination was Granada, Spain.  This was a nice city - plenty to see, pedestrian areas, good tapas and wine.  You can still see the influence of the ancient Moroccan culture in the architecture and foods.  We did not have tickets to Alhambra so we must plan on a long stay in Spain, to include Granada! A few sights: Old city streets, perfect to wander. Cathedral View of Alhambra View of Cathe...